Data indicates that more people are seeking help for mental health problems, with 44.6% of those diagnosed with a condition getting help in the last year. This is extremely positive news as it shows a shift in people’s thoughts towards mental health help – but there’s still a very long way to go.
44.6% is a big jump up from the 23.1% of people who got help 25 years ago, though let’s put things into perspective. It’s safe to assume that close to 100% of people who’ve been diagnosed with a physical health condition will go on to seek help. The problem here is that over half of the people who know they have a mental health problem still aren’t getting the help they need.
Why? It’s not always because they don’t want to get help; many barriers prevent people from getting the mental health assistance they need, and the list below showcases some of the biggest ones.
The Cost Of Mental Health Treatment
For many individuals, the cost of mental health treatment gets in the way of their progression. They want to speak to a therapist or undergo different treatment measures, but they can’t afford to do so. Free options exist, though those don’t tend to be the most thorough or professional options. To make matters worse, many health insurance providers don’t cover mental health treatments – so you need to know where to look.
The good news is that some insurance providers are starting to change their tune, most notably Aetna, one of the biggest insurers out there. It is now possible to find in-network Aetna therapists at Manhattan Mental Health Counseling, meaning you can access the mental health treatment services you need without spending a fortune. More insurance providers are following this trend, so we should hopefully reach a place where all mental health treatments are more financially accessible.
Too Much Demand, Not Enough Supply
This barrier ties into the previous one because it impacts the cost of mental health treatments. We don’t have enough mental health experts to handle the demand for mental health treatment. That’s arguably the biggest issue here. Hundreds of thousands of people could sign up for counselling at their local GP, but the GP doesn’t have the capacity to treat everyone all at once.
What does this lead to?
Massively long waiting times, especially for free or affordable treatments, pushing people into the private sector for fast mental health help. Ergo, you end up with the problem noted above: treatments cost too much money.
The supply can’t keep up with the demand, so we need a major restructuring of mental health funding across the medical sector. More therapists and experts need to be employed to reduce these waiting times and help people find assistance ASAP. As the waiting times go down and more mental health treatments become available, more people will be able to get the help they need.
Scheduling Conflictions
Physical and mental health treatments vary in countless ways, yet one of the standout differences relates to how you receive help. The majority of physical health concerns will be sorted out through things like medication, surgery, or rehabilitation. It’s relatively easy to receive this type of treatment – especially if the solution requires a dose of medication, which will ease symptoms right away. Even the prospect of surgery isn’t that much of a long-term time constraint – it takes time out of a schedule, but you’re normally back to normal within a few weeks or months.
Mental health treatments are long-term and could last for years. They also tend to center around the concept of therapy and psychology, meaning one treatment session can last an hour. For lots of people, this simply doesn’t fit into their busy daily schedules. If they’re lucky enough to find a therapist, they can’t find the time to book in weekly sessions around their work.
It’s a serious barrier, but we’re slowly breaking it down with the emergence of online therapy. People can now book sessions online with registered psychologists and receive treatment from the comfort of their homes. It’s easier to fit a 60-minute session in when you can do it at home whenever you get some free time.
Fear Of Being Judged
Sadly, one of the tallest barriers standing in the way of proper mental health treatment is the fear of being judged. This is responsible for a large chunk of people not receiving the help they need, even when they know they’ve got a problem. There’s still a slight stigma around mental health – and some people (wrongly) worry that other people will judge them for going to therapy or getting the help they need. For whatever reason it’s perceived as a sign of weakness.
Of course, that makes no sense. It’s not a sign of weakness for someone to undergo chemotherapy when they have cancer, or for an individual to get surgery to deal with a chronic health problem. If anything, those acts are seen as signs of great bravery and strength – so why is it the opposite when mental health is involved?
It boils down to the perception of mental health in generations gone by, but we’re trying to change that. We now live in a world where you can talk openly about mental health struggles, and we see more representation in different forms of media. While these may seem like small steps, they add up to create a better view and perception of mental health in the public eye. The goal is for people to look at mental health in the same way they view physical health, which should remove this stigma and show that it’s actually very brave to get help when you need it.
You may think of other reasons people don’t get mental health help, though most of the concerns boil down to these big barriers. They stop people from getting the help they need and hopefully changes will be made to knock them down. Some barriers are already crumbling, but we’re not quite there yet.
Feature Image by Robina Weermeijer from Unsplash
